The French and American Smiths

Abstract

In 1776, Hume wrote to Smith, ‘The Duke of Bucleugh tells me, that you are very zealous in American Affairs’. He went on to say that he thought that Britain’s difficulties with America were ‘not as important as is commonly imagind’ because business would not suffer as much as most people thought (Corr. # 149). On the latter point Smith agreed. But he was deeply involved — more deeply than has been generally realised — in helping to form British policy towards America. On the face of it, Smith’s policy advice shows him to be no friend of the American colonies. But in other respects, his moral philosophy and economic theory was to be of great help to them.